On Friday, Occupy Nashville posted this video, with the somewhat ominous title “Covert surveillance at Occupy Nashville?” It was taken outside the dinner that activists interrupted briefly in order to hurl “war criminal” charges at former defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld. In the video, a white van — with magnets that say “NES” affixed to its sides and what appears to be a camera of some sort mounted on its roof — sits idling on the side of the street. Occupy types start heckling whoever’s inside the van for being parked illegally, and there look to be computer monitors and other electronic equipment inside.

After the video was posted, speculation spread fast and furious about who was in the van and what they might have been doing: Was it TBI? Homeland Security? Blackwater? Today, Metro Police spokeswoman Kristin Mumford told the Scene that it was actually undercover Nashville cops:

The van was a Metro Police Department undercover vehicle that was part of the dignitary protection plan for Donald Rumsfeld. Given his obviously controversial status, and the police department hearing talk of possible disruptions to his visit, officers were assigned to proactively work to ensure everyone’s safety.

Vancouver, BC and Nashville, TN, September 7, 2010 – In Motion Technology, the leader in mobile networking technologies that efficiently connect and manage equipment, information and people in the field, today announced Nashville Electric Service has deployed the company’s end-to-end mobile networking and fleet management solution to improve dispatches, communications, and customer service.

“When we began our search for a new mobile communications technology, we set very demanding specifications,” said Vic Hatridge, Nashville’s Chief Information Officer. “We found the onBoard Mobile Gateway to be far superior to laptop-based devices,” said Hatridge. “Data cards are enclosed in steel and mounted in vehicles, so they are not easily broken, lost or stolen. In Motion Technology’s solution integrates seamlessly with our management and dispatch system to track vehicles, while providing high-bandwidth mobile communications over any wireless network. The solution is helping us improve operations and enhance customer service, and provides a platform on which we can deploy new applications.”

Nashville Electric Service, one of the largest publicly owned electric utilities in the nation, serves more than 357,000 residential and business customers across seven counties in north-central Tennessee. This year, the American Public Power Association awarded NES the Reliable Public Power Providers (RP3®) Diamond status, the electric industry’s highest designation for reliability, safety, workforce development and system improvement.

NES installed In Motion’s onBoard Mobile Gateways in 146 bucket trucks and supervisory vehicles. The Gateway turns vehicles into mobile hotspots, providing wireless connectivity to laptops and other devices in and around the vehicle. The Gateway can roam across wireless networks to provide the highest bandwidth and most reliable communications anywhere. It is easy to install, maintain and upgrade, and requires no user intervention.

The Gateway is GPS-enabled, allowing NES dispatchers to track all vehicles on a single screen and dispatch the closet truck to an outage or service call – a capability that will reduce response times and fuel use, while improving efficiency and customer service.

In Motion’s web-based onBoard Mobility Manager scans and analyzes information from Gateway equipped vehicles to provide NES with real time and historical information about its operations and communications. If a vehicle leaves its designated service area or exceed speed limits, dispatchers receive email alerts. NES also used the onBoard Mobility Manager to map all available wireless networks in its service area and select the one with the best coverage. In the future, NES may use the management system to monitor vehicle telemetry and other information from the field in real time.

“NES had extremely rigorous and forward-looking specifications for their new mobile communications technology, and we’re pleased to have been chosen to equip their fleet,” said Tony Morris, In Motion Technology’s VP of Sales and Marketing. “Many of the most demanding organizations in North America rely on In Motion to track, connect and manage their fleets and mobile operations, and we’re pleased to work with NES to improve operations, keep costs low and customer satisfaction high.”

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About In Nashville Electric Service Nashville Electric Service is one of the 12 largest public electric utilities in the nation, distributing energy to nearly 357,000 customers in Middle Tennessee. For more information about NES, visit www.nespower.com

“When we began our search for a new mobile communications technology, we set very demanding specifications,” said Vic Hatridge, Nashville’s Chief Information Officer. “We found the onBoard Mobile Gateway to be far superior to laptop-based devices,” said Hatridge. “Data cards are enclosed in steel and mounted in vehicles, so they are not easily broken, lost or stolen.”

Nashville Electric Service, one of the largest publicly owned electric utilities in the nation, serves more than 357,000 residential and business customers across seven counties in north-central Tennessee.

This year, the American Public Power Association awarded NES the Reliable Public Power Providers (RP3) Diamond status, the electric industry’s highest designation for reliability, safety, workforce development and system improvement.

NES installed In Motion’s onBoard Mobile Gateways in 146 bucket trucks and supervisory vehicles. The Gateway turns vehicles into mobile hotspots, providing wireless connectivity to laptops and other devices in and around the vehicle.

The Gateway can roam across wireless networks to provide the highest bandwidth and most reliable communications anywhere. It is easy to install, maintain and upgrade, and requires no user intervention.

The Gateway is GPS-enabled, allowing NES dispatchers to track all vehicles on a single screen and dispatch the closet truck to an outage or service call — a capability that will reduce response times and fuel use, while improving efficiency and customer service.

In Motion’s web-based onBoard Mobility Manager scans and analyzes information from Gateway equipped vehicles to provide NES with real time and historical information about its operations and communications. If a vehicle leaves its designated service area or exceeds speed limits, dispatchers receive email alerts.

NES also used the onBoard Mobility Manager to map all available wireless networks in its service area and select the one with the best coverage. In the future, NES may use the management system to monitor vehicle telemetry and other information from the field in real time.

Nashville Electric Service Selects In Motion Technology for Vehicle Tracking and Mobile Communications

NES now dispatches closest available crews to address outages

Nashville, TN & Vancouver, BC, September 8, 2010 – In Motion Technology, the leader in mobile networking technologies that efficiently connect and manage equipment, information and people in the field, announced Nashville Electric Service has deployed the company’s end-to-end mobile networking and fleet management solution to improve dispatches, communications, and customer service.

“When we began our search for a new mobile communications technology, we set very demanding specifications,” said Vic Hatridge, Nashville’s Chief Information Officer. “We found the onBoard Mobile Gateway to be far superior to laptop-based devices,” said Hatridge. “Data cards are enclosed in steel and mounted in vehicles, so they are not easily broken, lost or stolen. In Motion Technology’s solution integrates seamlessly with our management and dispatch system to track vehicles, while providing high-bandwidth mobile communications over any wireless network. The solution is helping us improve operations and enhance customer service, and provides a platform on which we can deploy new applications.”

Nashville Electric Service, one of the largest publicly owned electric utilities in the nation, serves more than 357,000 residential and business customers across seven counties in north-central Tennessee. This year, the American Public Power Association awarded NES the Reliable Public Power Providers (RP3®) Diamond status, the electric industry’s highest designation for reliability, safety, workforce development and system improvement.

NES installed In Motion’s onBoard Mobile Gateways in 146 bucket trucks and supervisory vehicles. The Gateway turns vehicles into mobile hotspots, providing wireless connectivity to laptops and other devices in and around the vehicle. The Gateway can roam across wireless networks to provide the highest bandwidth and most reliable communications anywhere. It is easy to install, maintain and upgrade, and requires no user intervention.

The Gateway is GPS-enabled, allowing NES dispatchers to track all vehicles on a single screen and dispatch the closet truck to an outage or service call – a capability that will reduce response times and fuel use, while improving efficiency and customer service.

In Motion’s web-based onBoard Mobility Manager scans and analyzes information from Gateway equipped vehicles to provide NES with real time and historical information about its operations and communications. If a vehicle leaves its designated service area or exceeds speed limits, dispatchers receive email alerts. NES also used the onBoard Mobility Manager to map all available wireless networks in its service area and select the one with the best coverage. In the future, NES may use the management system to monitor vehicle telemetry and other information from the field in real time.

“NES had extremely rigorous and forward-looking specifications for their new mobile communications technology, and we’re pleased to have been chosen to equip their fleet,” said Tony Morris, In Motion Technology’s VP of Sales and Marketing. “Many of the most demanding organizations in North America rely on In Motion to track, connect and manage their fleets and mobile operations, and we’re pleased to work with NES to improve operations, keep costs low and customer satisfaction high.”

About In Motion Technology

In Motion Technology is the leader in mobile networking technologies that connect and manage equipment, information and people in the field. In Motion’s patented Mobile Wireless Hot Spot System (US Patent #7,382,771) turns each vehicle into a secure, mobile communications hotspot that enables people on the road to stay in constant contact, as onboard communications roam seamlessly across wireless networks. It provides organizations with real-time information to manage operations to peak efficiency, and frees individuals to be effective anywhere, any time. Today, In Motion’s solutions are used by more than 275 municipal, healthcare, public safety, transportation and utility organizations worldwide. Founded in 2002, In Motion Technology is based in Vancouver, BC. For more information, please call Louise Labuda (In Motion Technology) at (604) 523-2371 ext. 538 or Michael Rubin (Rubin|Meyer) at (202) 898-0995, or visit www.inmotiontechnology.com.

About In Nashville Electric Service

Nashville Electric Service is one of the 12 largest public electric utilities in the nation, distributing energy to nearly 357,000 customers in Middle Tennessee. For more information about NES, visit www.nespower.com.

comments:

We can’t afford to “babysit” protesters on Legislative Plaza but we can afford to protect someone who had to fell France in October of 2007 because he feared being arrested under war crimes charges for torturing US detainees?

I actually found this van parked on the side… a younger plain clothed guy stepped out and I saw the equipment in the back. It was 1 TV monitor with security footage I went for my camera and the guy shut the door and ran across the street. After thinking it over a moment I realized wait NES doesnt have blacked out tinted window vans and something just wasn’t right. I went back to get another fellow protester and further investigation we found the camera at the top and went back to get the rest of the group. The ‘officer’ in the back that drove away gave us a very professional wave with his middle finger as he left… all caught on camera. Also, running a red light in the process.

Well, Jon, you just don’t understand police work. The police are busy people, protecting us with every waking breath. I was once like you. Not that long ago, my wife and I were on our way into Rotier’s for dinner when we noticed three police cars parked across the street at the JiffyLube. The officers were standing around talking, no flashing lights, no urgency. It looked like they were on a break. We thought nothing more about it until we came out more than an hour later to discover the same three cops were still there, still chatting as before. “My tax dollars at work!” I thought. Despite my wife’s protestations, I called out to the officers that the donut shop was actually a few blocks down. This at least got their attention so I could wave at them. Now I realize they were probably just trying to make people THINK they were idling to deflect attention from the real and vital police work they were carrying out. The police work in mysterious ways.

Metro is also taking protestors car tag numbers when the protestors arrive in the area! They also have undercover cops trying to catch folks for anything they can use, namely pot use and they may even be lifting cell phones!

report 2 likes, 2 dislikes like dislike Posted by Kim West Hipps on November 22, 2011 at 2:47 PM

I was there, and I’m fairly sure it WASN’T metro. They got a uniformed police officer’s attention (there was one staffed, directing traffic or something) and he was the one that shooed the van off. Metro was the one that got the van to leave. Pretty sure they wouldn’t do that if it was their own staff covertly surveilling the protestors.

I think you guys are totally missing the big picture, and I agree with Nik. NES is using mobile surveillance vehicles to do gps, vehicle tracking and gateway "monitoring" of wifi hotspots. They have a contract that allows them to spy and monitor YOUR online communications! For more info…Nashville, TN: NES Equipped with Mobile Gateway GPS Tech to monitor vehicle movement and communications http://bit.ly/wX0Ric@ELyssaD